You're not alone
by samanddianefan10
Summary: Set in season 2 episode 7. Daryl comforts Carol after they learn the fate of Sophia.


Daryl held her back. Her daughter was gone, now a walker. And he had never felt this helpless, not even when he discovered the walkers might have gotten his brother. His brother could fend for himself, but Carol was different. She was emotional, weak sometimes, not making the right decisions. But there was no way he would let her go near Sophia now, not like this. When Rick did what he had to do, Daryl felt so bad for Carol. How she would survive this, he had no idea, but he had to do something.

As it turned out, doing nothing was exactly what Carol needed. He held on to her, listened to her cries, kept her from falling apart. Why he cared so much about what happened to Carol, he didn't know, but at that moment he didn't care. This hurt him too, for he had invested more time in the search for Sophia than anyone. It wasn't like him to risk his life for someone else, someone he didn't know well, a child. But there was something about the search that provided him with comfort, hope almost. He was certain that he would have found Sophia. He would have staked his life on it. As it turned out, they found Sophia, just not the one they once knew and loved.

He knew what Carol needed. She needed her daughter. Sophia had probably saved Carol's life, and hadn't even realized it. He knew that Carol's husband beat her, but as long as she had Sophia she had a reason to go on. Kind of like him and his brother Merle. As long as he knew Merle might be alive, he could keep going. Merle wasn't much- he was mean and he hurt anyone that got close to him. But he was still Daryl's brother, and he couldn't give up on him. So when Carol gave up on Sophia that made him very angry, it had hit a nerve.

He held her. He let her cry, get it out of her system. Daryl wasn't one to cry- his daddy would have whipped him a good one if he were to cry about anything, but at that moment that's exactly what he felt like doing. It was strange-whenever Carol hurt, he hurt, and he didn't understand why.

"Come on," he finally said after they had made sure Sophia was put down, put out of her misery.

"Sophia," was all Carol could muster.

Daryl picked up Carol and carried her into the farmhouse. He laid her in her bed, and then he crawled in beside her. The worst thing would have been for her to be alone. So he laid beside her, holding her, listening to her cries. He gently touched her short hair, stroked her face, and then when Carol had cried herself to sleep, he kissed her forehead. He left before anyone realized what he had done, and he hated himself for leaving her, but she was asleep. At least when she was asleep she wasn't hurting.

The next day Carol approached Daryl. "I wanted to thank you," she said softly.

"For what?" He knew exactly what she was talking about, but was curious as to what she would say.

"You saved my life out there."

.""I didn't do nothin'," he muttered.

"I wanted to join Sophia. You stopped me. Why did you stop me?"

"do you have to analyze everything?"

"What else do I have to do now?"

He felt so badly for her. She was lost and alone in the middle of a group, and there was nothing he could do to save her. "You just go on. That's what we all do."

"How? How can I go on without her?"

"I don't have the answers. I'm not that smart."

"You are smart, Daryl. You are a good person," she smiled weakly.

"I ain't nothin'. You just gotta go on. You can't let let them win. If you quit now they win. That's not what Sophia would have wanted."

"What do you know about Sophia?" Carol asked, curiously.

"I know she didn't deserve what happened to her."

She knew he was a man of few words, so she didn't press it. So she nodded and walked away, knowing there wasn't much else for them to say.

He watched her. He always watched her, though he didn't know why. He was thankful that she didn't press him to get mushy, that wasn't his style. But he couldn't help her, and he hated himself for that. Maybe it came from his background, where he felt so helpless to help his mama, but there was something about Carol that piqued his interest. At first he was mad at her for being helpless, but the more that he got to know her the more he got to see that she wasn't as helpless as he'd originally thought. She couldn't be, not after watching Rick put down her walker daughter. If Shane hadn't beaten the hell out of Carol's husband Daryl would have done it himself. He hated the bastard for what he had done to Carol, and honestly, Daryl thought he got what he deserved.

Even when she didn't realize it, Daryl would be watching. A person could lose their minds during a situation like they were facing. At least she had had Sophia, but now she was alone. But Daryl vowed to himself that Carol would never be alone, not as long as he could help it. That much he was sure of, in this crazy world. For if Carol was never alone, that meant that he would never be alone, and for that, he felt a strange sense of relief.


End file.
